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Zucchini, Cheddar & Herb Quick Bread

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Zucchini, Cheddar & Herb Quick Bread

Roberta Reynolds
Here we have the best of all worlds – bread that you don’t have to wait on to rise, and besides that it’s brimming with chunks of cheddar cheese and herbs. It’s so good when it’s warm right from the oven, or toasted the next day with plenty of butter. Give him a try with our Chicken & Corn Chili recipe, or get crazy and make a grilled cheese sandwich with it. This recipe has been adapted from the 1997 edition of ‘Joy of Cooking’. If you haven’t picked up a copy of this treasure, it might be a great addition to your Christmas list. It’s a treasured resource for inspiration for me, and hope it will be for you too!
Print Recipe
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes

Ingredients
  

  • 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 4 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 Tablespoons dried herbs – I have used Penzy’s Italian Herb Blend Bouquet Garni, and Herbs de Provence at one time or another. You can use any combination of dried herbs you like too: how about Oregano, Marjoram, Dill, Basil, Tarragon, etc. Be careful if you use Rosemary since it’s so strong.
  • 1 cup crumbled medium to sharp cheddar cheese crumbled or diced – not shredded
  • 2 Tablespoons grated cheddar cheese or other cheese of your preference for topping the loaf
  • 1 cup shredded zucchini – squeezed as dry as you can between your hands
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1 cup canola or other neutral oil

Instructions
 

  • Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and generously spray a loaf pan with cooking or baking spray.
  • In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and dried herbs.
  • Add the cheese and gently stir into the flour mixture.
  • Add the zucchini and gently stir into the flour mixture.
  • In a separate small bowl, combine the eggs, buttermilk, and oil.
  • Stir into the flour mixture, only until the ingredients are combined. Try not to over mix the dough or you’ll end up with a tough loaf, which is not our desired outcome.
  • Spoon the dough into your prepared pan, and sprinkle on grated cheese.
  • Bake for about 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Baking time depends on your oven and type of loaf pan – mine have been known to bake for an hour and 15-20 minutes sometimes if I use a narrower pan.

Any route you choose to take will be a good one, and that’s a promise. Read on to see just how easy this one is to get on the table -or off the cutting board, if you can’t wait long enough to get him on the table. Once again, just speaking from experience.

The dough is a cool breeze to make: crumble some cheddar, shred and squeeze dry a little zucchini, and haul out your favorite herb combination. Mix the dry ingredients together, then just toss in the cheese and zucchini to make sure they are coated in the flour mixture. This will make sure both the zucchini and cheddar don’t sink to the bottom of your loaf. Mix the wet ingredients in gently please, and try not to over mix or you will have a tough loaf of bread on your hands. This is not desirable but still perfectly edible, so no worries either way.

One little trick is making sure the bread is baked all the way through. It can become a test of pure will on your part because it smells so delicious in the oven with all those herbs, you’ll want to get it out of there and eat it as soon as you can. However, we must wait until a toothpick comes out clean before that happens. This most likely will take at least an hour, just so you know. But look what you’ll be rewarded with: Such a beauty!

Wait about half an hour if you can before slicing, then go for it. Check out the chunks of cheese (which is why we crumble instead of grating it), flecks of zucchini and all those herbs make my head spin.

Slice it up and serve on a wooden board scattered with fresh herbs, arrange in a bread basket with fall napkins, or just grab and go.

I, for one, am making a grilled cheese sandwich with it and having lunch in about five minutes. This blogging stuff makes a person hungry. Hope you enjoy this one as much as we do! Happy Fall, and thanks so much for reading today. xoxoxo

Hello. I’m Roberta Reynolds.

I’m so glad you dropped in! Welcome to Bird’s Nest Bakery and Café, a collection of ‘made from scratch’, seasonal recipes developed in my home kitchen. I’ve been obsessed with creating the easiest and most delicious recipes possible since I could reach the top of a stove.

I hope you’ll find this site a welcome and relaxing place where you can come for inspiration and ideas. Take a look, have fun, and feel free to modify these recipes to suit your particular palate. It would make me so happy if you would share these recipes with friends and family. After all, cooking and baking are meant to be shared with those we care about. That’s what’s so much fun about it!